Wellingborough man who terrified passers-by after he pointed air gun at them jailed for 16 months

Callum Jones

A man who terrified a number of drivers in Wellingborough after he pointed an air gun at them has been given a 16-month jail sentence.

Armed police were called out to Wellingborough after Barry Dexeter, aged 33, was seen with what appeared to be an air gun on May 16 this year.

Northampton Crown Court heard Dexeter walked in to the Co-Op in Kingsway with the air gun, which looked like a handgun, at about 9.30pm.

Lynsey Knott, prosecuting, said, after being escorted out of the shop Dexeter walked to a crossing, forcing a vehicle to stop, and then pointed the air gun at the driver.

She said: “The defendant was seen to throw something over his shoulder and he then turned round to face the car.

“He then pointed the gun and grinned and laughed. The female passenger said she was very scared due to the intense look in his eye.”

Dexeter then pointed the gun at a car containing a woman and her young daughter. He also pointed the weapon at another female driver who had slowed down to see if she could help him.

Ms Knott said that Dexeter returned to his address in Windsor Road and barricaded the front and the back door.

Armed police were called to the scene and the incident, which lasted more than three hours, finally concluded after officers broke the door down and entered the property to find Dexeter asleep on his bed with the air gun underneath him.

Dexeter was arrested and charged with possessing an offensive weapon with intent.

One of the victims of the incident said she had been suffering “nightmares” since the incident and was worried it may have affected her daughters performance in her GCSE exams.

Maxine Krone, mitigating, said Dexeter suffered from ADHD and had stopped taking his medication before the incident.

Judge Lynn Tayton sentenced Dexeter to 16 months in prison. He is likely to serve half in jail before being released on licence.